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Coming Out Today - An Ember in the Ashes & The Shattered Court

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

An Ember of Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

"Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not
vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their
loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives
with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an
existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not
challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make
a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her
brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's
greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier--and secretly, its
most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being
trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies
are intertwined--and that their choices will change the fate of the
Empire itself."

The Shattered Court by J.M. Scoot

"The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries. If a
woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by
rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer
magics of the earth--ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather.
Any magic more dangerous is forbidden.
Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days
away from finding out if she will be blessed--or perhaps cursed--with
magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion's ancient enemies leaves the
kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by
happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal
guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown.
Then Sophia's powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they
would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a
witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the
established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who
seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must
decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious
temptation of power...."